The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing ready-to-eat rice, which can be reconstituted into a food preparation with its original shape, good taste and flavor or pleasant sensation to the tongue in a very short time, merely by being mixed with boiling water.
The study and development of the so-called ready-to-eat rice, such as pre-cooked boiled rice, rice gruel, porridge of rice and vegetables and so on, have been known, and these foodstuffs have been on the market. However, such foodstuffs have many defects concerning their precooking and preparation or reconstitution and quality, and no satisfactory product has yet been developed.
The conventional manufacturing process of ready-to-eat rice is divided broadly into three categories as follows:
(1) Rice is boiled and then dried. PA1 (2) Rice is boiled and then fried in oil. PA1 (3) Rice is boiled, flattened and then dried.
However, the rice made by the first process as mentioned above in (1) needs a longer time for restoration to its original shape and lacks stickiness peculiar to boiled rice and pleasant texture to the tongue.
The second process as mentioned above in (2) requires a high oil temperature for frying the rice after boiling, and it is therefore rather difficult to maintain the good quality of the boiled rice. Furthermore, the rice made by this process has the defect of not being easily restored to its original shape by merely pouring boiling water on it.
The rice made by the third process as mentioned above in (3) can not be restored to its original shape peculiar to rice, but rather remains in a flattened state, and is far removed from boiled rice in flavor and feel of eating.